Teachers at Hollywood Arts provide consistent, dedicated attention to our students and teach the techniques of the creative discipline as well as assist our students in developing other cognitive and behavioral habits that will help them be better prepared for productive futures.

Fashion: Illustration and Styling

Marina was raised between the San Juan Islands and a boat in Alaska. After studing fine art in Seattle, she attended the Advanced Studies Program at FIDM before spending 2 1/2 years apprenticing and designing in Italy. Her collections and designs have been shown on runways across the US, Europe, and China and have been featured in Vogue Italia, Elle Italia, Book MODA Haute Couture, InStyle, People,WWD, and Apparel News. Currently she is the owner and creative director for Di'Viniti, Inc.

Acting Improvisation

Rachel is the Director of The Second City Training Center-Los Angeles. She has previously worked as a teacher for The Second City TC, and as a producer for The Second City Communications, The Chicago Improv Festival, and SINGLE FILE: a festival of solo performances, which she also founded.

Music: Theory and Piano

Wes Hambright’s music has been heard in major independent films, television shows, commercials and multi-media platforms around the world. For the last 5 years his music has been heard consistently on Telepictures/Warner Brothers shows, Extra, Elimidate, Tyra Banks Show and Celebrity Justice. Film credits include scores for the feature Morristown and a the documentary The Sophisticated Misfit, which was awarded the Maverick Filmmaker award at the 2007 Newport Beach Film Festival. Multimedia projects include webisodes for the quirky comedy series Lawyers! which launched on StrikeTV.com in October 2008. In 2003, Wes started Orange Dog Music - a company devoted to providing a uniquely fresh sound for all media formats.

Fashion: Sewing

Taryn went to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago for fashion design and construction. She has worked for Anna Sui in NYC and styled celebs in LA, all while developing an eco-repurposing clothing line called Eco-Diva (formerly Tazza). Presently, she works at Warner Bros. and is learning to write eco-scripts through UCLA Extension. She hopes to inspire the students at Hollywood Arts to sew and recycle clothes and many other things.

Creative Writing

Jackie is a fiction writer from New York City, and is brand new to Los Angeles.  Her fiction has been published in various small literary journals that you cannot buy at newsstands.  She indulges her passion for writing and teaching daily, working as a freelance writer, editor, and tutor.  Jackie holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Stonecoast, University of Southern Maine. 

Music: Vocals

Based in Los Angeles, CA for 25 years, Leo has an “up close and personal” view of the music industry in all aspects. Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Leo is an accomplished guitarist with a five-octave voice range who has worked with Motown Records, MCA Records, Death Row Records, Ray Chu of Saturday Night at the Apollo, Earth Wind & Fire, Chuck Rainey, George Clinton, The Patrice Rushen Band, Cedric Martin of “Confunkshun”, The Commodores and Louis Johnson of The Brothers Johnson. He also has a track record of experience in studios and stage production.

Lesley is an adventurer. She received her BA in English and Philosophy from Syracuse University in NY. For over three years she lived, taught, studied and travelled abroad in Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Her most recent journey culminated with a Master's degree in Transpersonal Psychology. Currently, she is teaching a sociology course on Chinese Language and Culture at the Art Institute. Lesley's personal passion is mythology, particularly the way in which myth acts as a map of human consciousness.

Writing

Tom is a teacher, writer, and filmmaker. He is the Program Manager of the Sage Studio Filmmaking Bootcamp for the Raue Center for the Arts and has taught over 4,000 hours for The Princeton Review of Southern California.  Tom also wrote and directed the feature film This is a Business, which is being distributed by Indiepix Films.

Acting: Acting 1 and Scene Study

Bruce Ducat has a long list of clients and acting students including the stars of General Hospital, Boy Meets World, Ten Things I Hate About You, American Rhapsody, Full House, and Home Improvement. He has also worked with Julie Andrews, Jayne Meadows, Jennie Garth, Colleen Camp, Laura Kightlinger, Wil Shriner and the late Eugene Roche and Chris Farley.

Music: Guitar

Richard Johner has been playing the guitar for over 30 years and teaching music for 14 years. He attended the Berklee School of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, and currently gives private lessons full-time.

Makeup

Elizabeth Prokopiak attended Poway Academy of Beauty in San Diego, earning a license in Esthetics. She has managed a popular resale clothing store and organized and styled their only fashion show. During the 2005 Warped Tour she worked with Warner Brothers as a makeup artist for My Chemical Romance. She has since been published multiple times in both print and online. She currently works for an internet marketing firm that specializes in original content production. Her work can be seen on YouTube, Vimeo and MyspaceTV.